


Behind The Shadow

by Kalice_M



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Best Friends, Child Abuse, Christmas, Drama, Drama & Romance, Falling In Love, Halloween, High School, Homecoming, Implied Sexual Content, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, New Years, Original Fiction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Depression, Romance, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-09-27 07:01:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17157422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalice_M/pseuds/Kalice_M
Summary: He took every single punch, kick, glass bottle... He took it all with a sense of courage because he had to. He had to be courageous for his mother and for his siblings. He had to protect them from their father and his mother from her husband because if he didn't, there was a chance they wouldn't be there the next morning. He took all the pain while the people he tried so desperately hard to protect, let him.His life at home was a battle field; a never ending war. But when he was at school with his friends, he felt safe, more so with Dante than anyone else. Dante was the one person in his life he knew he could always count on. He was a stone he could lean on for support; his safe haven.And so he shouldered all the pain for his loved ones at home but in the presence of his friends at school, he grinned with a smile made of stitches.





	1. Chapter 1

He didn’t even blink as his fist collided with his father’s jaw. That was just the way he was; making decisions without a single thought of their potential consequences. His abrasiveness made it easier to make decisions on the whim but that didn’t mean they were necessarily good decisions. Though he was absolutely positive of that fact, the force of him being slammed into his bedroom wall solidified the thought.

His father’s hand wrapped into around his throat like a snake, applying more and more force until he was sure this would end it all. This would be the last time he would ever wake up and the last time he’d even get to watch out for his mother and his two younger siblings because _this was it_. He was going to die and his mother standing less than five feet away wasn’t going to do a thing to stop it.

His hand attempted to pry the far to damp and long fingers from around his neck, but they refused to budge. Only as he began kicking out did he realize his feet were no longer touching the ground but instead, dangling in the air helplessly. He attempted to call out for help, to gasp, to just _breathe_ , but it was all fruitless. He was going to die here and despite the time he spent trying to protect his brother and sisters, despite the times he took those punches so his mother didn’t have to experience that dull pain, despite all the nights and mornings he spent crying to himself when all that physical and emotional pain built up and it became too much, no one was going to save him. They were all going to watch the encounter until his frantically beating heart finally slowed in his chest until it came to its final stop.

Or so he thought.

He fell to the ground, then, struggling to breathe as his blurry eyes caught the sight of his mother holding his father away from him. They were both yelling but he couldn’t understand a thing. He was listening but not hearing, living but also dying, and seeing but not perceiving. He was a mess; an unprepossessing blob of all kinds of different colors that never seemed to come together. A mistake on an otherwise blank, white canvas that should never have existed in the first place; a mess that needed to be erased but it wasn’t that easy. It wasn’t easy to erase that paint from that white paper so instead, it was painted over and hidden beneath a seamless stroke of white paint that worked as a mask.

Quite honestly, his entire life was just a game of masquerade.

“I’ll kill you, boy,” his father spat in his direction. “I will shoot a bullet through your head the next time you even _think_ about going against me.”

“Calm down, Nicholas,” his mother murmured in his ear as if he was suddenly death to her harsh words. “We’ll take care of him later. I’ll take care of his punishment and you can go out and clear your head for a moment. Maybe you could even stop by the store—”

Nicholas shoved her to the side and made his way out of the room while grunting under his breath, “take care of it yourself, you stupid woman.”

The room was silent without the man’s intense presence and all the two of them could do was stare at one another. One of their eyes held grief and pain while the other’s held… annoyance.

“It wouldn’t have gotten that bad if you would just stop interfering, Elijah,” his mother said under her breath, a sort of unconcealed anger hidden beneath those words. “Stop pretending to be the hero because you’re _not_. You’re just a seventeen year old boy.”

Elijah didn’t even bother arguing. He simply stood and made his way to his bed to take a seat all the while maintaining eye contact with his mother; waiting for her to continue as he was sure she would. She opened her mouth to speak but abruptly cut herself off with a shake of her head before, surprisingly, she, too, made her way out of his room.

As soon as the door shut behind her, Elijah fell back against his beat down mattress with a sigh. Some part of him urged him to get up and lock the door. Some part of him urged him to hide before Nicholas could come back and see his promise through. He couldn’t bring himself to follow his instincts, though. He was far too tired to really care anymore and so he laid there until the ceiling above his head became a little less clear and his breathing slowed.

 

Elijah’s forehead beaded with sweat and his breaths were shallow and almost painful as he made his way down the aisle of the bus. He’d completely overslept and would have missed the bus if he hadn’t raced his way there. He probably looked like a complete mess to anyone occupying the bus, but hey.

What’s new?

When he got to his seat he almost immediately shut his eyes and leaned back against the seat; inwardly hoping that the man next to him would take the message and leave him alone for the moment. A moment of peace; that was all he needed, but it didn’t seem as if that would be the case when a felt a finger prod his shoulder.

“Mm?” Elijah hummed in question, glancing at his friend from the corners of his eyes.

Dante cocked an eyebrow his way. “Now, I’m usually supportive of your decisions including your fashion choices but…” He trailed off, looking him up and down slowly with a small grimace. “What in the hell are you wearing? You look like you grabbed those clothes from a clown’s wardrobe.”

Elijah shrugged; he had a point there. He could admit he looked like a complete and utter mess, but he had an excuse. “I was running late. My alarm didn’t go off and my mother was already off to work so I had less than ten minutes to get here.”

“So you couldn’t find anything else to wear within those ten minutes?”

Elijah rolled his eyes. “Holy hell, we’re on our way to high school; not to strut down a runway. Get of my back.”

“Yeah, well, besides the clothes, you also need to wash up as soon as we get there. You don’t stink or anything, but you look terrible, sweating the way you are.” Dante was quiet for a moment in thought before asking, “why didn’t you call me and tell me you were running late? My parents could have given you a ride.”

“I didn’t want to bother them,” he lied. Truthfully, he hadn’t truly considered that option. Why someone would be willing to take care of a child that wasn’t their own was beyond him. If he was being completely honest with himself, his mother probably wouldn’t have been willing to drive him to school, herself. She’d probably just go on another tangent about how much of a terrible son he was and all the stress he continuously causes her.

“They seriously wouldn’t have minded in the slightest.” Dante reached into a small pocket on the front of his backpack to hand him a tissue. “Here.”

“You just happen to carry tissues on you?”

The corner of Dante’s lips turned up a bit. “Allergies.”

“Right…” He didn’t really think about it when he did it. He took the offered piece of tissue paper and wiped at his forehead in an attempt to remove all of the sweat beaded down his skin. Though it didn’t help completely, it was enough to leave Elijah feeling a bit more clean and secure for the moment. That was, until Dante’s eyes widened and a grin spread across his features.

“Holy crap.”

“What?” Elijah questioned dubiously.

Dante took the tissue from his hands despite his protests only to glance down at it before asking, “Jesus, are you wearing makeup?”

Elijah felt his face began to heat up because how in the world had he forgotten about that? “It’s not—”

“Are you going through a phase?” Dante chuckled. “Because if so, you should have told me a while ago. This is insanely amusing and I can’t help but to feel like I’ve been left out of some elaborate joke.”

“It’s not a joke—”

“Well, what’s the story then?” Dante questioned. “Why are you wearing makeup and where the hell did you get it? I honestly didn’t—”

He trailed off, then, his expression shifting from one of amusement to one to obvious confusion. Elijah watched as Dante’s eyes squinted in scrutinization and waited tensely for the question that was sure to come any second now.

“Are those bruises?”

And there it was.

“Yeah,” Elijah shrugged nonchalantly in an attempt to play it off.

“From where?”

“I got in a fight.”

“No you didn’t,” Dante accused. “You would have told me and you definitely wouldn’t have tried to hide it with makeup of all things. What’re you hiding from? Your parents?”

“Yeah,” Elijah answered after a moment. Thank the God above Dante was coming up with lies for him because he had an odd feeling he wouldn’t have been able to come up with such a lie himself. If only Dante knew where the bruises truly came from… How ironic would that be?

“Why?”

“Why are you asking so many questions?” Elijah let out a soft laugh. “It’s not that big of a deal. Why’re you acting as if _you’ve_ never been in a fight before, yourself?”

“Of course I have,” Dante scoffed. “The only difference is when I get in a fight, I don’t lose and if I have a scratch or two, I don’t try to hide it. Seriously, Elijah, that doesn’t look like a fist hit you. That looks like a hundred fists and a bat took a swing at you; it looks like something that has been building up for a while. Who have you been fighting with constantly?”

“No one. I told you I got in a fight. _One_ fight.”

Dante rolled his eyes, turning his attention once again to the window. “You’re lying and I hope you know I’ll find out what you’re lying about soon. All secrets come out eventually; especially when I’m involved.”

Somehow, Elijah didn’t doubt the man, but he hoped with every fiber of his being that Dante was wrong just this _one_ time.


	2. Chapter 2

“So, you know homecoming is coming up soon, right?” Katherine asked over a mouthful of fries. “And both of you guys are still single and without dates. Are you going to attend or are you going to skip out for what… the third time?”

“Homecoming isn’t my thing,” Elijah excused. “Why would I pay forty dollars to sit around awkwardly for the entire night?”

“Well, maybe, you should open up a little more and stop being a debbie-downer.”

“Hey,” Dante started to say, “you guys all know I’m down for a party but even I’m not fond of homecoming. It’s corny as hell and a waste of money I don’t have.”

Lynn chuckled from the other side of the lunch table. “Dante, you’re only saying that because you’re lonely and still haven’t managed to get a girlfriend in all these years. You don’t have to be embarrassed about it; none of us are judging you.”

Dante cocked an eyebrow. “I haven’t managed to find a girl who’s my type quite yet.”

Katherine cleared her throat and waited for the attention to return to her. “Well, anyway, I would appreciate it if you guys would attend this year. It sucks being there without any of my friends. It would make a world of difference if you guys would stop being so uptight and have fun for the night.”

“I would go if I could,” Elijah murmured, “but my mother probably won’t let me.”

“You’re seventeen,” Dante pointed out with a raised eyebrow. “What’s the problem? This would be your first time ever going, anyway.”

“They’re strict,” Elijah excused. In all honesty, he could probably convince his mother to let him attend, but convincing his stepfather would be an entirely different story. To be point blank, there was zero chance his stepfather would ever even _consider_ letting him out to do anything remotely fun unless he had alternative motives.

Not to mention, even if he somehow managed to gain permission to attend, he would probably decline to do so, anyway. This specific sort of anxiety always washed over him whenever he wasn’t around; more presently whenever he was at school as he was now. He could never be sure of what was going on when he wasn’t around. Sure, his siblings should be at school and his mother should have already gone to work but those simple facts never seemed to be enough to calm his nerves.

“Can I come over to your place after school?” Dante asked before taking a sip from his water. “Maybe I can convince them.”

Elijah’s heart spiked in his chest. “You can’t.”

Dante let out a dramatic sigh. “What the hell is going on in your house? A dictatorship? Every time I ask you to come over you’re always making up some sort of excuse, but fine. Can you come over to my place, then?”

 _No_ , his mind reminded him, but that didn’t change what came out of his mouth. “Sure.”

Dante smiled. “Great.”

Elijah rolled his eyes at the male. He looked far too pleased and why, he couldn’t fathom. Sure, he wasn’t usually able to visit or hang out with him outside of school, but it wasn’t as if Dante was locked up. He could spend time with Katherine or Lynn if he truly wanted to. They were surely better company than he’d ever be. They just happened to be more extroverted and ready for a good time whereas Elijah had always been more on the cautious side. It was something he was used to feeling, anyway.

The rest of school was the usual; boring, nerve wracking, and uncomfortable. Just because no one had ever told him how odd they found him didn’t mean he wasn’t well aware of that potential truth. As far as everyone else was concerned, he was just some weird and oddly quiet teen who was practically a nobody. If it weren’t for Dante, Katherine, and Lynn, that wouldn’t be so far from the truth.

As soon as that final dismissal bell rang, he was out the door and searching for a familiar face or car. He was just about to reach for his phone to call when Dante finally made an appearance even though he was completely invested in his phone as he usually was.

“Hey, Eli,” Dante muttered as he made his way to his car, Elijah trailing behind him. “Are you ready to go?”

The corner of Elijah’s lips turned up. “As if I have anything better to do.”

Dante let out a laugh. “Half the time, that’s precisely how you act.”

“Not on my own accord,” Elijah pointed out.

“Right…”

 

The ride to Dante's house was comfortably quiet and calm. He was glad Dante wasn’t pushing him for information as he had thought he would. Even _he_ knew how incredibly stupid his story was. The fact that he was lying was as clear as day and Dante wasn’t stupid; nowhere near it, in fact. As much as he appreciated the silence, he also had to wonder _why_ Dante wasn’t questioning him at the moment. It wasn’t as if the guy didn’t care, right?

He considered Dante to be one of his closest friends if not _the_ closest. Despite how utterly closed off Elijah seemed majority of the time, he had still stuck around. Without Dante, Elijah would have no one to rely on. He wouldn’t have someone to spend time with or talk to or just _laugh_ with every now and then.

Without Dante, he would be on his own.

Elijah cast a glance over to the teen, dark brown eyes searching his features for  some sort of clue of what was going through his mind. Preoccupied in his own thoughts as he usually was, he tended to forget just how closed off Dante could seem, himself. The guy was always worrying about him along with everyone else but he never seemed to worry about himself. Come to think about it, as much as Dante meant to him, he didn’t know much him. What was his life like at home? It had to be better than his own, right?

That was a stupid question. _Anything_ was better than his own life at home.

They pulled into Dante’s driveway some minutes later and the silence remained consistent as they made their way up to the door, side by side, and Dante pulled out his keys to unlock the front door. Elijah waited idly and in the sudden stillness of the world, he felt that heavy sense of dread beginning to crawl its way into the pit of his stomach.

Why had he agreed to this again? He was sure that his mother would be pissed just as sure as he was that the sun would go down that night. And then, the world would be shrouded in darkness. No shadows. No masquerades.

Nothing to hide behind.

“Are you okay?” Dante asked as he finally pushed the door open after what felt like hours. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Heh.” Elijah huffed; the soft sound meant to disguise how entirely right Dante was as always. “Overdramatic as always, Dante. You’re really outdoing yourself today.”

Dante let a small smile pull at the corner of his lips even as he rolled his eyes. “You’re hilarious,” he droned. He gestured to the small closet just to the right upon entering his home. “Put your shoes in there before my mother comes home and beats us both to death.”

Elijah chose to ignore the feeling of his heart’s steady rhythm quickening at the comment and instead did as he was told before asking, “what do you want to do?”  
“To be honest,” Dante said, “I don’t know.”

“Then why did you even invite me over?”

“‘Cause I enjoy your company,” Dante shrugged. “Do I need a better reason than that?”

“Are you serious?” Elijah questioned incredulously. “You enjoy _my_ company? Why not invite over Lynn or Katherine?”

“Do you wanna know a secret?” Dante asked but didn’t bother waiting for an answer as he continued. “I’m not the biggest fan of Katherine. To be point blank, she pisses me off half the time.”

“I thought you guys were close?” As far as Elijah was concerned, Dante had known both Katherine and Lynn almost his entire life. He couldn’t understand what could possibly make him change his opinion of his childhood best friend. “What changed?”

“ _She_ changed,” Dante began to explain. “The reason we became friends in the first place was because I liked how she didn’t give a shit. She was always her herself no matter what other people thought of her, but then we got to high school and suddenly all of her life choices were dictated by whether or not her boyfriend would like what she wears or does or even just _says_. It’s ridiculous.”

Elijah only nodded his understanding, not sure what to say on the matter. On one hand, he understood Dante’s point, but on the other, he was never comfortable talking poorly about people behind their back. He liked Katherine. She was kind and had never wronged him in any way. As much as he trusted Dante, who was he to dislike someone because of someone else’s opinion?

Dante sighed at Elijah’s extended silence. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be telling you any of this. Forget I said any of that.” He paused in thought. “Or… don’t. You could tell her anything I said and honestly, I don’t think I’d mind in the slightest.”

“Why don’t you tell her?”

“Just because she annoys me consistently doesn’t mean I care about her any less,” Dante reasoned. “I wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings like that and there really isn’t an appropriate time to bring something like that up. Bringing this up to her would be a dick move on my part. Besides, who am I to dictate how she lives her life?”

Dante threw his backpack to the ground and took Elijah’s wrist in his hand to pull him in the direction of presumably his room. “I just thought of something I’ve been wanting to show you. My mom bought it for me about a week ago.”

“What is it?” Elijah questioned.

Dante refrained from replying because less than a few seconds later, Elijah was standing before the answer to his question; the rather large and _expensive_ answer to his question. The slick, black instrument sat in the corner of the room. It’s keys practically glistened with the little sunlight left to aid it’s shine. Elijah was mildly shocked Dante’s family could afford to get him a grand piano. The instrument was probably worth more than his entire existence, if he was being honest with himself.

Dante took a seat in front of the piano and ran a finger along the keys; that one stroke of his finger producing a beautiful strum of notes. “I’ve been asking for a piano my entire life but I didn’t think I’d ever get one until I graduated and bought my own. I still can’t believe I’m the owner of a _grand piano_.”

Elijah smiled, finding it genuinely amusing how excited Dante was over the surprise gift. “Do you know how to play any songs?”

“Of course.”

“I mean by heart.”

“Maybe one or two,” Dante answered with a resonating smile. He scooted to the side and pat the little space left next to him in silent invitation. “Wanna hear?”

Elijah dropped his backpack beside Dante’s bed before taking the invitation without a second thought. “Sure.”

Dante took a moment to get himself composed and to position his fingers along the keys before starting, his movements soft and steady. The melody he played was slow like that of a lullaby but the mood surrounding the notes was… sad. It sounded like the type of melody that would follow lost of something or someone important. Dante watched, mesmerized, as Dante’s fingers glided along the keys and before he knew it, he was finishing his miniature performance with a chord of notes that now sounded more bright and cheerful; like finding the light at the end of the tunnel.

Dante took his hand and maneuvered his fingers until they were hovering above three difference notes before urging him to press down on all three together. “That’s a minor chord which is basically when a piece centers around the notes la, do, and mi.” Dante helped him shift his fingers to another three notes before pressing down, as well. “And that’s major, or when a piece centers around the notes do, mi, and so. Major is usually associated with being uplifting while minor is associated with being more depressing.”

“Wasn’t the song you just played a little bit of both?”

Dante smiled, seemingly pleased that Elijah had been paying attention. “Yeah. The piece I just played was mostly in minor until the very last chord which was a major chord. When that happens, it’s referred to as a picardy third or a picardy cadence.”

“What’s the song called?”

Dante placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze before murmuring his answer under his breath.

“Better Tomorrow.”

He cleared his throat before shifting to stand up, Elijah doing the same. “We should probably wash off the rest of that makeup. To be honest, I still don’t understand why you’re wearing it and it’s freaking me out.”

“I already told you why,” Elijah sighed, following Dante as he led him to the bathroom to grab a wet towel. Elijah gestured for Dante to sit as he ran the cloth under warm water before gently lifting his chin and dabbing at his skin. “I can do this myself, you know?”

“Yeah, but I want to,” Dante muttered as he ran the cloth along his forehead. “You know it’s crystal clear you were lying about getting in a fight earlier, right? If you’re going to lie to my face, at least tell a good lie. You don’t even hang around anyone but me, Katherine, and Lynn so who the hell were you fighting with, anyway?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Elijah admonished, continuing to stare Dante in the eye even as he felt the walls crumbling around him. “Why do you care so much anyway?”

“Stupid question.” Dante leaned away from him to observe his now bare face. “That’s a _lot_ of bruises, Eli. I’d really appreciate it if you told me what _really_ happened. Don’t you trust me at all?”

“I trust you,” Elijah sighed, “but I can’t.”

Dante nodded even as the corner of his lips tilted down before he murmured, “you should probably be getting home soon, right? You aren’t supposed to be over here in the first place if my assumptions are correct.”

“Where are these assumptions coming from?” Elijah questioned.

“You always seem so tense…” Dante said under his breath. “It’s like you’re always waiting for something to go wrong. That isn’t… normal.”

Before Elijah could react to the admission, Dante was leaving to retrieve his keys so he could drive him home. He wasn’t sure if he’d upset the guy but if given the chance, he wouldn’t back anything he’d said. He wasn’t lying when he said he trusted Dante, but that was only a partial truth. He trusted Dante with everything except for that particular bit of information he was so keen on knowing.

He didn’t trust that Dante wouldn’t freak out about the whole ordeal and report his mother. As far as Elijah was concerned, he could handle it. He _was_ handling it.

It was no big deal.

The ride to his own house was just as silent as the ride to Dante’s except this silence was different. This silence was full of tension and held back words of presumably anger from Dante. This silence was one of hesitation from saying the wrong thing and making an already bad situation, worse.

This silence was loud.

When he arrived home, he exited the car without bothering to say goodbye to Dante but what he didn’t expect was for Dante to get out along with him and walk him to the door.

“I’m sure I can make it ten feet to the door without dying, Dante,” Elijah muttered with a frown.

“I was never doubting you,” Dante started to say, “because unlike you, I don’t doubt my friends. I know I can _trust_ my friends.”

“You’re the one making a big deal out of all of this,” Elijah pointed out. “As usual, might I add.”

“I wouldn’t have anything to make a big deal out of if I knew what ‘this’ was.”

“I told you what _this_ was and you didn’t, and still don’t, believe me.” Elijah stopped before his front door and crossed his arms over his chest, a glare aimed Dante’s way. “That’s _your_ issue. At this point, it’s pretty hypocritical to be talking about trust issues.”

Dante’s eyebrows furrowed as he let out an annoyed groan. “I _know_ you’re lying, Eli. I know it, and so do you. And you keep lying while looking me _straight in the eyes_ and it’s pissing me off.”

Elijah opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the front door of his house suddenly being yanked open, his mother standing in the doorway. An icy chill ran through his body as she regarded first him with a look of irritation and then Dante with a look of surprise.

“I…” She trailed off, looking Dante up and down. “Hello. Who are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m a close friend of his,” Dante answered with a small nod. “Dante.”

“Pleased to meet you,” his mother murmured even as her attention was now focused on Elijah. “I hate to sound rude, but I need to have a conversation with Elijah, if you don’t mind.”

“Actually,” Dante started to say, “I was hoping to have a short conversation with you.”

His mom shifted on her feet and reached long fingers up to twist at her hair. “A conversation? About what?”

“There’s a school dance coming up,” Dante explained. “Homecoming. I was hoping you could grant your son permission to attend for the first time in three years. That wouldn’t be an issue, would it?”

“I…” His mother frowned. “Yeah… of course he can attend.”

“Great,” Dante smiled and it pulled at Elijah’s gut to realize how _forced_  it looked.

Elijah’s mom nodded, more to herself than anything, before retreating into the house without another word.

Elijah only stared at Dante for a moment and he stared back. Pushing his hair back from his forehead, he offered a small smile as he reached for the doorknob. “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow, Dante.”

“Of course.” Dante stared as he finally made his way into the house and moved to close the door behind him before he suddenly called out, “hey, Eli?”

Elijah paused. “Yeah?”

“I just find it interesting how your mom didn’t seem too bothered about those bruises,” Dante smiled, ever so sarcastic. “But that’s a mystery for another day, huh?”

Elijah watched as Dante made it to his car without another word and pulled out of the driveway. He stood there and stared even when Dante was completely out of sight.

Yeah. Maybe Dante wasn’t so wrong when he said all secrets came out eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this wasn't the best chapter ever, but hey. At least I tried. xD


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as he shut the door behind him he was practically slammed into the nearest wall. He should have suspected such an occurrence, he somewhat _did_ , and yet all he could do was stare at the culprit for his sudden lack of breath with wide eyes. Her eyes mirrored his own except the reasoning behind her expression were so obviously different. She was afraid.

 _Terrified_.

“What did you tell that boy, Elijah?” his mothered questioned, her tone shaky. “I know you told him something and knowing you, they were probably all exaggerations. But exaggerations can get dangerous, Elijah. You understand that, right?”

“Mom—”

“What the hell did you tell him?” His mother shouted this time, slamming him against the wall for the second time that day in her frustration.

“I didn’t tell him anything,” Elijah breathed out. “Now could you let go of me?”

His mother pulled him in for a hug; an action that was against each and every one of his expectations. She ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly; just like she used to do before she let that sorry excuse of a man into her home. Just like she used to do when he was a worry-less child who could perform everyday functions without a constant anxiety antagonizing him.

“I love you, Elijah,” she whispered into dark locks. “I love you so much. You’re growing up to be such an intelligent man. When it comes down to it, you make me proud. You make me the proudest.”

Elijah pushed out of the woman’s embrace as politely as he could and attempted to fight the frown he felt pulling at his lips. “Love you, too, mom. I have homework to get done so I’ll be in my room.”

His mother nodded and turned to make her way to the kitchen.

As soon as she was out of sight, he felt his tense shoulders slump and a shaky exhale escaped his lips. She was crazy. As much as he hated to think it, his mother was _nuts_ . She was attempting to manipulate him; to keep him from spilling family secrets that he’d never even intended to spill. And all to keep herself and Nicholas safe and _happy_ of all things. Because why?

Why put the safety of your children over your own happiness?

His lips pulled in a slight smile as he leaned against his bedroom door frame and watched as his youngest brother rummaged through his drawers in search of who knew what. He felt a twinge of annoyance at the mess his brother was making, but that didn’t take away from the amusement he felt at witnessing such a situation.

“Kenneth,” he called, his smile widening when his sibling jumped up in shock. “What are you doing? You know you aren’t supposed to look through other people’s things.”

His brother regarded him with wide eyes. “I wasn’t!”

“You weren’t?”

“No…”

“Then what were you doing?” Elijah questioned and gestured to his room that was now in disarray while moving to take a seat on his bed. “And how did this mess get here? Casper?”

Kenneth let out a sigh as if he were giving _him_ a hard time. “Casper wouldn’t do this. He’s a friendly ghost.”

Elijah rolled his eyes. “Casper doesn’t exist, Kenny. I’m being sarcastic.”

Kenneth frowned up at him. “I don’t know what that means.”

Elijah sighed with a shake of his head. “I’ve got work to do, Kenny, so would you mind leaving? You shouldn’t be in here in the first place.”

Kenneth nodded before making a hasty exit and Elijah couldn’t help the groan that passed his lips when his sister appeared in his place.

“Where have you been?” Irina asked, her arms crossed over her chest. “You’re late.”

“I was out with a friend.”

She hummed, looking over his messy room with furrowed eyebrows. “It was Kenny, right? He was probably looking for his birthday gift. God knows he doesn’t know the meaning of patience.”

 _Birthday gift_? He’d forgotten his brother would be expecting one of those for his eighth birthday, but he wasn’t sure what to get him let alone if he would be able to. With his lack of money, he’d be lucky to be able to get him a thing or two from the dollar store.

Irina’s eyes narrowed in scrutinization. “You forgot about his birthday, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t forget,” Elijah stated. “I’m just not sure if I can afford getting him a gift.”

“Well, maybe if you had a job, this wouldn’t be an issue.”

Elijah frowned. “You know why I don’t have a job so stop bringing it up.”

“Whatever,” Irina shrugged. “Don’t worry about it and don’t spend money you don’t have. He’ll have to learn to be understanding and grateful for what he has. If it comes down to it, you can always make him a gift from scratch.”

“Yeah. I know.”

Irina nodded. “Alright. Well I’ll be in my room if you need me and mom told me to tell you dinner will be done soon and she expects us to eat at the table like a ‘proper family’ or whatever.”

Elijah watched as Irina closed the door behind her upon exiting and tried to tame the insistent anxiety crawling its way inside him. They were going to eat dinner _together_? With Nicholas?

With no doubt in his mind, Elijah knew dinner was going to be hell.

 

Half an hour later, dinner was served and Elijah along with the rest of his family sat seated at the dinner table. There were no words spoken; just pure uncomfortable silence from each and every one of them. Irina was barely touching her food but instead, scrolling through something on her phone idly. Elijah met Kenneth’s stare and his little brother only frowned at him as if he too could sense impending trouble.

“Irina.” His mother waited until she looked up from her phone. “How was school today?”

Irina laughed a bit. “Why do you always ask that and expect a different answer? It was fine.”

His mother hummed. “Alright. Well, I’d appreciate it if you could lose the phone for now. We’re supposed to be spending time together which means at the very least, you could acknowledge all of us.”

“Your generation needs to learn to communicate with the people surrounding you rather than the people behind a screen,” Nicholas said with a disapproving shake of his head.

Irina only nodded even as her brows furrowed in slight annoyance.

“When will I get a phone?” Kenneth asked. “My friend at school has one and he’s the coolest. I wanna be like him.”

“You’ll get one when you actually need it,” his mother said softly.

“No one _needs_ a phone,” Nicholas scoffed. “It’s just another piece of technology invented so we as the human race can have more excuses to be lazy.”

“But what if I get kidnapped?”

“Then a phone won’t be of any use to you, anyway,” Irina muttered with a roll of her eyes. “You don’t seriously think your kidnapper would let you call the police, do you?”

Elijah simply listened as conversation began to flow around the table, all the while idly moving his food around on his plate. It wasn’t as if the food wasn’t good; on the contrary, it was rather delicious thanks to his mother’s amazing cooking skills but he just couldn’t bring himself to attempt to stomach it. Sitting at the table, he felt so oddly out of place. So _uncomfortable_.

“Is your meal not good enough for you, Elijah?” He turned his attention to Nicholas who was now regarding him with narrowed eyes. “Your mother worked hard on cooking that for you and you’re not going to waste it. Eat.”

Elijah felt Irina kick his foot under the table as a premature warning but chose to ignore it. “That’s funny coming from you.”

Nicholas cocked an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

“You don’t usually give my mother compliments,” Elijah explained. “You’re usually too busy beating on her and calling her a ‘ _stupid woman_ ’.”

He saw his mother’s fist ball up from the corner of his eye before she whispered, “that isn’t true…”

Nicholas didn’t even try to deny the accusation. “I _discipline_ this family. Get that through your thick skull, boy.”

Elijah let out a sarcastic laugh. “All you’re doing is giving the word ‘abuse’ a different name.”

“Dammit, Elijah,” Irina muttered with a glare. “Just _stop_ alright? Not now.”

“I’m going to my room,” Elijah said, standing up from the table and walking away without another word. He ignored Nicholas’s commands for him to sit down. He ignored his little brother’s plea for him to come back. He ignored everything; choosing to block everything out for the moment.

He was sick of always being made out to be the bad guy; more so by Irina than anyone else. As far as he was concerned, it was like Irina constantly sided with the enemy. How she could bring herself to, he’d never understand. She _constantly_ defended the guy who had hurt every single one of them numerous times. The guy who had made it so blatantly clear that he couldn’t give less of a shit about any of them. If presented the chance, Elijah was sure Nicholas would abandon them within a heartbeat.

It wouldn’t be the first time Elijah felt abandoned, but it sure as hell would be the first time abandonment had made him genuinely pleased.

“Elijah,” Irina called and Elijah quickened his pace. Just as he managed to make it to his bedroom and moved to shut the down behind him, Irina appeared just behind the doorway. He groaned a bit when she placed her entire weight against the door to prevent him from shutting it. “Elijah, we need to talk.”

“No we don’t,” Elijah said. “Go finish eating dinner.”

“I’m not choosing sides, Eli,” she whispered to him. “Just let me in so I can talk to you. I have something to tell you.”

“Is it something important or are you coming in to lecture me on how much of a trouble maker I am?”

“It’s something _very_ important.” Irina sighed when he finally let up and entered his room swiftly before he could change his mind. She shut the door behind her before leaning against it with her arms crossed over her chest. “You know I’m not saying Nicholas is right—”

“It comes off that way a lot.”

“Yeah, well, that isn’t what I’m saying.” She let out another sigh and placed a hand to her forehead. “That isn’t what _any of us_ is saying. Sometimes you need to know when to stand down, Eli. There are some wars that can’t be won.”

“You can’t win anything if you never try,” he pointed out.

“Trust me,” she nodded, “I hear you. But let’s say you do try and you never give it up. Then you have an ongoing, never-ending war. You lose a lot in wars… some things that you can never get back. Just because you quit at something doesn’t always make you a failure. In this case, I’d argue it would make you smart.”

“I don’t care about being a ‘failure’, Irina.” Elijah’s brows furrowed in irritation. “You should know that. I care about keeping my family safe and so should you. So while you may think it’s a good idea to sit on the fence and watch your family get torn apart, sooner than later you’re going to have to step up.”

“Fine,” Irina stated, “then think about it this way. When you two fight, it usually ends up dragging the entire family into the ordeal. When you fight for justice or whatever the hell you’re doing, more people end up getting hurt and Kenneth has to watch that. While Nicholas may not be our biological father, he _is_ Kenny’s. Say whatever you want about me but everything you’re saying… You have to admit it’s _way_ easier said than done.”

“You’re just going to pre—”

“Mom’s pregnant,” Irina interrupted and before Elijah could even comprehend what she’d said, she expanded on the statement. “She’s a month pregnant with triplets…”

Elijah only stared with wide eyes, not sure how to react to the admission. His mother was pregnant and with _triplets_? And she was already a month along?

“Why am I just now learning about this?” Elijah questioned, his tone lowered as he felt his initial surprise slowly morphing into hurt and anger.

“Because everyone knows how you are,” Irina murmured. “Everyone knows you’ll be the first to flip your shit so no one wanted you to know until you absolutely had to. I’m trusting you to keep quiet about this, though. I wasn’t supposed to tell you any of this and if dad finds out I did, he’ll kill me…”

As angry as Elijah felt… As much as he wanted to confront Nicholas and his mother about the situation, he knew Irina had a point. Nicholas might just kill her if he ever found out she went against his wishes and that statement was as literal as it was ever going to get.

“So you’re telling me that for the past month, Nicholas has been beating a pregnant woman?” Elijah asked dubiously, some part of him not wanting to believe what Irina was saying was true. He didn’t want to believe that his own flesh and blood thought so little of him that they were willing to keep such a big secret hidden from him. “And all for stupid shit like breaking a glass or accidentally leaving a light on? And you knew about this and _still_ did nothing?”

“What was I supposed to do?” Irina asked, her eyes beginning to gloss over. “Nicholas wants her to abort them and I think mom does to. I told her not to, but she brought up good points.”

“Like what?”

“If she keeps them and Nicholas decides to leave us behind, then what?” A tear ran down her cheek to catch at her chin before it hit the floor. “She can’t take care of six kids, Eli. She can barely take care of three with Nicholas here.”

“Then we can figure something out--”

“Just _stop_ ,” she interrupted. “Stop thinking in hypotheticals and be realistic here. You keep saying all of these different things but words don’t translate into actions and you know that.”

Elijah shook his head to himself with a frown before murmuring, “can you get out? I have to get some stuff done.”

Irina hesitated for a moment before nodding and exiting after one last comment. “Keep quiet, Elijah. I’ll talk to you more about it tomorrow.”

Elijah shut his door behind her and locked it before turning off his bedroom light and taking a seat on his bed. He stared at the bright moon that bathed his room in a light haze as he let himself get lost in thought.

How was it that the people he’d known his entire life; the people he should know the most out of anyone else in the world…

How was it that his family had suddenly become complete strangers?


	4. Chapter 4

Elijah and Lynn watched as Dante explained the chemistry homework to the two of them. The two of them exchanged confused looks with one another. To be honest, it was as if Dante was speaking another language because no matter how many times he attempted to explain the work to them, the could never truly understand it. 

“Does that help at all?” Dante finished, looking between the two of them with a raised eyebrow.

Lynn laughed a bit before murmuring, “a little bit, sure.”

Dante rolled his eyes with a huff of laughter. “Were you guys even listening at all?”

“I never said I wasn’t listening,” Elijah pointed out. “I hear you, but nothing you’re saying makes any sense.”

“I would offer to do the homework for you guys, but don’t you have a test coming up soon?” Dante asked.

Lynn ran a hand through dusty blond locks with a sigh. “Yeah and no one is exactly excited for it. Our teacher has been telling us it’s one of the hardest tests we’ll take in her class and the last test we took wasn’t exactly easy itself.”

“I just barely passed it,” Elijah sighed.

“The only reason I did okay is because I cheated,” Lynn admitted. “You know? Since the tests are online.”

“Eli.” He waited until the two on them met eye contact. “Ask your parents if I can come over to help you study later. They shouldn’t have any reason to say no to that, right?”

“Why’re you only helping him?” Lynn questioned.

“Because I already know you’re a lost cause so you might as well cheat your way through the next test, too.” Dante laughed at the glare Lynn sent his way before turning back to Elijah. “Well?”

“You already know the answer to that question, so why do you keep asking?” 

“Maybe I’m hoping the answer will eventually change?”

“It won’t.”

“Alright,” Dante shrugged. “Then I’ll just sneak in. Your house is one story, right? So I’ll just come in through your bedroom window and leave through your bedroom window.”

“That’s a ton of effort just to spend more time with someone,” Lynn muttered under his breath with a shake of his head.

“Actually, it’s pretty simple,” Dante pointed out. “So would that be alright, Elijah?”

“It’s like your entire life goal is to get me in trouble,” Elijah laughed. “Sure, whatever.”

Dante smiled. “Great.”

“Hey Dante.” Lynn tapped his pencil against the piece of paper in front of him. “If you aren’t going to help me study, at least help me finish the homework?”

“I’ll help you study tomorrow. I can come over to your house anytime unlike a certain someone’s.” Dante sent Elijah another one of his looks that only had him rolling his eyes in feigned annoyance.

“The bell’s going to ring in another minute or two,” said Elijah, standing up so he could throw his trash away with Dante and Lynn following behind. “I’d rather not be caught in the middle of a stampede so can we go?”

“Right behind you.”

 

Elijah moved to take a seat at a table in the back corner of the room with Lynn following closely behind him. It was like a breath of fresh air to have finally made it to his final class of the day; photography. One, because he shared the class with one of his very few friends and two, because unlike a good number of people taking the class, he enjoyed it. As far as he was concerned, most of the people took the class simply because it was easy, a  _ blow off class _ , and that meant they could spend their time texting on their phones or dozing off. He took the class because it was always calm and God knew he could use a few moments of peacefulness in his life.

Mrs. Tepher regarded the class with a bright smile as soon as the bell rang and, oh yeah. That was another reason he enjoyed the class; the woman who taught it was absolutely too good for this world. 

“As you already know, today you’re going to be assigned with going around school and taking pictures of the fine art classes. Make sure the pictures are flattering and if you can help it, positive. We don’t want the yearbook to be filled with a bunch of frowning faces.”

Everyone began to pull out the cameras that the school had provided for them as Mrs. Tepher continued to explain. “Once finished, come back to class  _ immediately _ . That means no horseplay in the halls or the bathrooms. I will help you guys edit said photos with whatever class time we have left.”

“So, what’s up with you and Dante?” Lynn leaned over to ask while the teacher continued her instructions in the background. “He told me you guys hung out yesterday over the phone and he seemed a little upset. He was fine today, though.  _ Questionably _ fine.”

And there was the anxiety that he had missed so much. When was the last time it’d made an appearance? Oh yeah, just last night.  _ Great _ .

“Yeah?” Elijah asked though his thoughts were raging at one hundred miles per minute. “Did he happen to tell you why?”

“No,” Lynn answered. “That’s why I’m asking you. Didn’t something happen? Did you guys get into a fight or something?”

“So he didn’t tell you anything that happened yesterday? Just that we hung out?” He knew it was stupid to ask such questions but he was in desperate need of an answer.

“ _ No _ , Elijah.” Lynn gave him a playful push to his shoulder. “What’s up?”   


“Nothing…” he muttered under his breath and  _ dammit _ . Why did he have to be such a sucky liar? “I just came over to his place, we talked a bit, he demonstrated his amazing piano playing skills, and I went home.”

Well, at least  _ those  _ weren’t lies. He just left out some minor details.

Lynn only continued to stare at him with bright green eyes that clearly weren’t buying his story. Who could blame him? While he did feel bad about lying to his friend he also felt as if he had no other choice. He didn’t want any of his personal business out there for people to dissect and twist and make into something it isn’t. If he had it his way, he wouldn’t want Dante to know, either.

The thing is, Dante probably already knew and was avoiding saying it aloud. He’d already basically confirmed that what he had said the previous day had been a lie and it was a miracle that he hadn’t brought it up to him thus far. 

Though, that was probably exactly what he intended to do once school ended.

“He told me he thinks something is wrong,” Lynn confessed softly, placing a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention when he looked away. “He said something isn’t right. I’m sorry if he’s totally off the mark here and we’re both making a big deal out of nothing, but he thinks you might be being abu--”

“Lynn,” Mrs. Tepher called gently as if she were scolding a young child. “I would appreciate it if you would turn your attention to me, not to sound self-important or anything. You and Elijah can continue your conversation in a little bit.”

“Sorry,” said Lynn before he murmured one last thing to Elijah. “I’m gonna put my trust in you and assume Dante is just being overprotective but if that isn’t the case, I need you to understand something, Elijah.”

“What is that?”   


“We’re all here for you,” Lynn whispered with a smile. “Always.”

 

For the rest of class, Elijah wasn’t able to get the conversation out of his mind. Lynn’s words ran through his mind even when the dismissal bell rang, when he met up with Dante, and even when the two of them arrived at his home. Dante parked his car a block away and Elijah unlocked and opened his window once he got to his room to let him in as they’d planned.

Elijah took a seat on his bed and stared into hazel eyes with a slight frown after he locked his bedroom door because it never hurt to be too cautious. 

“You told Lynn?”

Dante froze a bit, clearly not expecting the question to be the first to break the long silence between them. They hadn’t truly spoken with each other since lunch. Even during the car ride there had been nothing but silence except for a few comments here and there. Dante cleared his throat and attempted to regain his composure. 

“I told Lynn what?”

“ _ Dante _ .”

“Alright,” Dante sighed, putting his hands up as if surrendering. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you. You’re my friend, you know, and I care about you a lot. Forgive me for taking bits and pieces of a story and making up my own ending but it’s  _ all I can do _ , Eli. It’s all I can do until  _ you  _ fill the rest of the story in.”

“Dante, what goes on in my house goes on in  _ my  _ house,” Elijah said, raising his voice a bit. “It isn’t any of your business so stay out of it.”

“Are you being abused, Eli?” Dante asked, placing a hand on his shoulder that trailed up to his neck and then to cradle the side of his face in an odd show of tenderness. “All the signs are there. Your face is  _ covered  _ in bruises and if you showed a little more skin in your everyday dress, I’d probably find out you have more hiding beneath your shirt or on your legs and arms. You have obvious anxiety that only seems to worsen whenever I bring up your parents and, may I add, you  _ never  _ talk about them unless prompted to.”

“Dante—”   


“I don’t know a thing about them. I don’t even know their  _ names _ but I do know that they’re oddly controlling of you. They never let you do anything or go anywhere but, oddly enough, when I had the chance to talk to your mother she agreed easily to let you attend homecoming as if I had held a knife to her throat.”

“ _ Dante _ —”   


“And I’m not sure if you think I’m blind or something, but I  _ did _ see how bruised her eye was. I saw how terrified she looked as if she had something to hide and was fearful of it getting out.” Dante pulled his hand away from his face suddenly and turned away with a sigh. “I’m not stupid, Eli. I know something is wrong here even if it isn’t the fact that you, and maybe even your mother, are being abused.  So tell me I’m wrong, Eli.” He turned to face him once more and crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me it’s all in my head.”

Dante felt an odd combination of panic, sadness, and anger building in his chest and found himself at a loss for words. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Just a week ago, everything had seemed normal between them. Just a week ago, Dante would have never entertained the thought of him being abused at home.  _ Just a week ago _ , Dante had probably just assumed his behavior was normal for him; that it was just how he was.

“Are all of these assumptions new?” Elijah asked him when he had no idea what else to say.

Dante stared at him for a bit silently before whispering, “no. The difference is that back then, I genuinely thought I was reading too much into everything which is why I had never brought it up. But now, I’m pretty confident my assumptions aren’t just assumptions.”

“I like the mindset you had back then more,” Elijah laughed though the sound held no actual humor. “Can you go back to that?”

“I’m serious, Eli.” Dante’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me the truth and nothing but the truth. Are you safe here or not?”

Why Dante was still asking questions, Elijah had no idea. He’d already won and even he seemed to know it, so why wouldn’t he stop pushing? Why was he forcing him to admit his situation out loud as if they both didn’t know  _ damn well _ what was going on?

“Dammit, Eli!” Dante yelled. “Just answer me!”

Elijah threw a punch at Dante before he could even think to do otherwise. Dante managed to avoid the hit, his eyes widening in shock, and while Elijah was initially annoyed, his annoyance quickly morphed into relief and then regret when his mind cleared even the littlest bit. What the hell was he doing? What in the ever living hell was  _ wrong  _ with him?

“I-I’m so sorry,” Elijah said, standing up so the two of them were eye to eye. Speaking of eyes, he felt his own begin to gloss over with unshed tears that began to fall before he could do a thing about it. He’d just threw a punch at his best friend and all because he couldn’t handle the truth. 

He’d just tried to cause harm to Dante and all because he was  _ scared _ . He couldn’t help but to think that Nicholas might have done exactly what he’d just attempted to do in his situation. Maybe he and Nicholas weren’t so different, after all? Maybe he was well on his way to becoming the man he hated the most in the world.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said with a voice as soft as silk because he couldn’t raise his voice if he tried, at this point. His throat suddenly felt so constricted as if a snake was wrapped around it and he hated the feeling. Hated it more than anything because it was so  _ familiar _ .

To his surprise, Dante didn’t stare at him with contempt or even the slightest bit of irritation. Instead, the man pulled him into a hug and ran long fingers through his hair comfortingly. Elijah buried his face in the crook of his friend’s neck as he tried to get himself under control; to calm his ragged breathing and to stop the tears that wouldn’t stop falling and revealing far too much.

“It’s okay,” Dante whispered. “If anything, I’m the one who should be apologizing; I was being insensitive. You did nothing wrong, Eli.”

Elijah didn’t bother to call out how wrong Dante was. Instead, he only held him tighter as if his presence, his  _ touch _ , was the only thing keeping him grounded at the moment. Maybe it was?   


Both of them jumped when they heard quick and heavy footsteps approaching the door before a heavy voice rang out that had Elijah wincing and pulling away from Dante. He nodded his head to the window tellingly.

“You need to go,” he whispered.

“Who’s in there?” Nicholas yelled and Elijah watched as the doorknob moved a bit but didn’t open. He was glad he’d had the foresight to lock it but knew he would soon regret it.  _ Very  _ soon. “Unlock this damned door, Elijah!”

Dante hastily moved to crawl through the window as a loud banging sounded. Nicholas was going to kick down the door but Elijah only watched, his eyes downfallen and  _ tired  _ as he moved to once again take a seat on his bed. If Nicholas wanted a fight, he was going to be sorely disappointed. Elijah put his head in his hands as Nicholas landed another kick to the door which only creaked loudly in protest.

“Eli,” Dante whisper-yelled from outside his window, holding out a hand. “Come with me, please. You can stay over at my place for the next few days or however long you need. You aren’t safe here!”

Elijah heard the ruckus on the other side of his door. He heard his mother’s pleas for Nicholas to stop, his brother’s crying and his sister calling for him to just open the door.

“Just open the door, Elijah!” Irina yelled, a struggle in her voice as if she was trying to hold something back. That something was more than likely Nicholas. 

It annoyed him beyond belief the way she always made it seem like he was the one being unreasonable. As if Nicholas wasn’t the one currently trying to break down his door like some wild, caged animal in search of freedom and all because he heard an unfamiliar voice. He was  _ sick  _ of it.

“Elijah!” He turned back to regard Dante whose eyes were now blown wide in full on panic in a way Elijah had never seen. “ _ Please _ !”

Elijah finally made up his mind, quickly moving to join Dante just as the door finally flew off it’s hinge. Dante caught him when he almost fell to the grass upon making it out, grabbed his hand, and pulled him along behind him in the direction of his car that sat almost a block away.

“Elijah!” he heard Nicholas shout for him in anger and suddenly the worst fear he’d ever felt crawled his way inside of him.

He’d just abandoned his family with a mad man but there was no turning back now. All there was left to do was attempt to keep up with Dante’s sprint. His breaths came out in huffs and he tried to ignore the guilt he felt from allowing Dante to be in such a situation. None of this would have ever happened if he’d just said no to Dante coming over in the first place but he had just  _ had  _ to be stubborn. 

He swiftly crawled his way into the passenger seat and Dante in the driver’s side of the car as soon as they reached it. Dante pulled away from the curb as soon as he started up his car and began to drive in the direction of his own home. He was going  _ way _ above the speed limit and only then was it obvious just how scared Dante was and yet Dante never thought about himself.

Dante reached for Elijah’s hand with his own free one and gave it a squeeze. Hazel eyes met his own for the briefest of moments.

“We’re okay,” he whispered to him. “You don’t have to be afraid.”

**Author's Note:**

> This work will have shorter chapters simply because it allows me to get them out more frequently! I hope you enjoy and feedback (both positive and negative) is welcomed!


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